A sales agent who spent two years trying to find a buyer for the Kingston Flyer says it is in the ''best interests'' of the train for it to be broken up and sold.
Tourism Properties sales agent Adrian Chisholm told the Otago Daily Times he had dealt with up to 40 potential buyers of the Flyer, land and associated buildings, but no deal had been struck.
''If there was a buyer for the whole [operation] I am positive we would have identified that buyer by now.
''It's clear that it's a very hard asset to get a tourist operator to make the thing work effectively. Therefore, it's probably in its best interest that the thing is now broken up into locomotives and rolling stock going somewhere where at least they'll be restored and protected and have some future, either as a static display or as a working business.''
The Queenstown Lakes District Council is considering downgrading the Kingston Flyer from a category 1 heritage feature in its district plan to a category 2.
If that happened, it would mean the Flyer could be removed from the district.
At last Thursday's council meeting in Queenstown, owner David Bryce said in a letter to the council the train had never operated as a viable business from Kingston and it would benefit from being in a community where there were volunteers who were passionate about steam trains who could help maintain and restore the set of seven carriages and two locomotives.
Mr Bryce said in his letter he was willing to work with Venture Southland or the Wanaka National Transport and Toy Museum to ''preserve the Kingston Flyer for longevity''.
Mr Chisholm said there had also been interest from around New Zealand for the rolling stock locomotives to be relocated elsewhere.
''I think the bottom line is that we've given it [everything]. We have advertised it worldwide to find an operator to run the business as it stands now, and that hasn't been successful, so I think the council will have to make some tough decisions about the category downgrade. Hopefully, common sense will prevail.
''But, obviously, the community of Kingston have to be consulted.''
Kingston Community Association chairwoman Annette Dalziel said she could not comment on the proposed downgrade until after it was discussed at the association's monthly meeting tonight.
